Disability is not an obstacle
Disabled rural youth given opportunities to thrive in the corporate sphere.
RURAL youth with disabilities have been given a second chance to thrive in the corporate sphere.
Through a private training initiative, rural youngsters in Zululand attended a week-long workshop in Empangeni to help them overcome the challenge of unemployment as a disabled person.
Hosted by Athena, a private mobile FET college last week, the programme comprises a theoretical component followed by practical experience where the students are placed in a working environment that reflects the course they are busy studying.
One of the students, who is deaf, attended the workshop and told the Zululand Observer he is now working at the municipality and is even busy doing inductions there.
‘I have been training the staff and even the bodyguards are getting sign language lessons from me during their lunch break.’
Simangaliso Ntuli said, ‘This project has changed my life and that of my family’s. I feel like I am finally a contributing member of society.’
After the 12-month skills development programme, students are placed in full-time employment according to the results they have achieved.
